article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/opinion/24brooks.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
Lately I've been noticing how horrible the internet can actually be. The appeal of the anonymity that supposedly comes with using the internet was talked about in a previous post on this blog, but what about when people use the internet because they're desperate for attention?
We've all heard stories about people who get famous from videos on youtube, that's kind of like the good end of this spectrum. We've also all heard about people who've committed suicide from online bullying and kids who've been kidnapped and such from predators using the same websites and chat rooms. It all kind of boils down to: the internet isn't a safe place. Good and bad can happen, so you need to be careful. But not all of us are.
This article is about a girl who was "lonely at school, she took refuge by creating an online persona, Kiki Kannibal, posting photos of herself with various hairstyles and looks — goth one day; sexually charged, Lady Gaga-style temptress the next" This girl was only 13 years old. She became a huge internet sensation, but with this rising fame came a lot of danger. An 18 year old boy tried to force himself on her and "she was victimized by the owner of a for-profit, teen-exploitation site called Stickydrama. The site’s owner both organized mass hate sessions against Kiki and invited her to live with him and become one of the site’s exhibitionist playthings." It got out of control and her parents didn't even know what to do.
I never really thought about how badly our use of the internet affects us. Now kids discover inappropriate things at younger and younger ages and then we have cases like this one, where they sexually exploit themselves where people all over the world can see. Is it too late for us to reverse this? Can we find a way to have less Kiki Kannibal's and more kids who cure their loneliness constructively and safely?
1 comment:
People, especially children and teens, have to be careful with who they are talking to and what they are putting up on their blogs. There a ton of sexual predators, most are old and are on look out for children,preteens, and teenagers. What you post online reflects who you are to people who do not know you well. People would see your page and some would judge by what you post and by what people post of you. There are many cyber bullies out there and they are not alone. Some will have back up and if one says something bad about someone, there will be others that would say the same and also post unappropriate things on the victim's blog.
There are some teens who are too afraid to say what they feel and what is going on with them and they do not say anything. Things will then get worse and like you stated, Jillian, some teens commit suicide as a result of depression and feeling alone. Some teens would even talk to their parents and some parents would either not believe them or not have time to listen to them. Though some teenager's parents do not listen, they cannot quit from finding help that they need. They have to keep on asking for help because someone will listen and be there for them. No one should feel alone because cyberbullying is quite common. There are support groups and counselors that are committed to help people that are being cyber bullied.
Often, young people who feel lonely out there try getting the attention that they cannot obtain in the real world by via web. People who do this just want to feel a sense of love and affection they cannot receive from the people around them . If a sexual predator starts talking to them in a sweet way, in a way they can feel that there is someone out there who cares about them, they'll start trusting such person. This could lead to posting revealing pictures of themselves in which they would send to sexual predators. Then the sexual predators could show their friends or even post them on the web. Meeting new people is a nice thing. But if someone feels something suspicious is going on, follow your instincts. Sexual predators want young people to trust them and know the right things to say to them in order for some to do what the sexual predators tell them to do.
Here is a link in which shows ways for a person to be able to stop being cyberbullied.
http://www.safeteens.com/tips-to-stop-cyberbullying/
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